Lucas Barton

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Biomechanical Intern

I completed my second co-op at Stryker, Trauma and Extremeties in Kiel, Germany. From July - December 2017, I worked as a biomechancial intern. I gained experience in testing medical devices and creation of CAD models in Creo ProEngineer.

CAD for Medical Device Testing

At Stryker, I learned how to use Creo ProEngineer to design new models and update existing models. I was able to work with complex CAD assemblies to incorporate new testing methods, and I was also able to develop independent test designs.

Distal Femur Mold Design

As part of a new test at Stryker, I took initiative to design a unique mold assembly for the distal femur. The assembly would be used in a foam molding process to rapidly create copies of the distal femur with a bone-like structure for internal testing. The mold needed to be easily separated from the foamed part without causing any damage to the part. It also needed to be relatively easy for a lab technician to complete this task so that it could be done in a timely manner.

Drilling Fixture

In addition to rapidly creating the distal femur foamed parts, a technician also needed to reliably drill screw holes into the foam with surgical instruments to make the tests as realistic as possible. The foamed parts would later have surgical hardware installed in them for fatigue testing and other lab tests. I designed a fixture which allowed consistent drilling into the foam by easily aligning the fixture with the foam in one hand, and drilling into the guides with the other hand.

Test Fixture Integration

Once the distal femur foamed part had been drilled with proper holes and all the hardware had been installed, it needed to be tested in a dynamic fatigue tester. The picture to the left is the final result of my integration of the foamed part into the lab testing rig. I had to adhere to strict tolerances and make sure that all of the dimensions were perfect in order to ensure that the testing of surgical hardware was reliable.

Model Updates

Another project I worked on at Stryker involved updating incorrect Femur CAD models. The lever-arm placement was incorrect in the CAD models, so I updated the placement for multiple nail, screw, distal, and proximal component assemblies. I also created new CAD assemblies for competitor nails. This project acquainted me with Creo ProE helped me become familiar with assembly references.

Screw Driver Design

When an important, unique lab screwdriver broke, I was tasked with reverse engineering it. I measured each detail of the broken screwdriver and replicated it in Creo. Once I had completed the design, I produced part drawings and communicated with the machine shop to make sure production would run smoothly. I was able to use the screwdriver once it was finished and it worked great.